UPDATE: This story has been edited to adjust an incorrect address for the new cell towers. The Hockessin location will be 7259 Lancaster Pike.
If you’re having trouble with reliable cell service where you live and travel in New Castle County, there may be a solution on the way.
New Castle County Executive Matt Meyer on Monday announced they are accepting bids for cellular providers like AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile to set up new cell towers in the county’s “dead zones.”
Meyer was joined by the county’s Chief of Technology and Administrative Services, Michael Hojnicki at the Hockessin Library on Monday afternoon to announce the sites of the new towers on county property.
Where will the new towers go
In February, New Castle County commissioned a third-party technology company to conduct a study to evaluate where in the county had the worst cellular reception. Most of these dead zones were focused around southern New Castle County, near Odessa and Townsend as well as rural parts of northern New Castle County like Centerville and Hockessin.
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The study finalized a list of five priority locations for new cell towers to be erected, and the final plan was limited down to three.
- Middletown-Odessa-Townsend Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant (810 Old Corbitt Road, Middletown)
- Back Creek Drive (112 Back Creek Drive, Middletown)
- Hockessin Police Athletic League (7259 Lancaster Pike, Hockessin)
A mandatory pre-bid meeting is set to take place this Thursday at noon with prospective bidders, and the proposals will be accepted until September 6.
Cost of the project
The county will spend $1.3 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act money on the project, but the final cost will be confirmed after a proposal has been chosen by the county government. County Executive Meyer also stated that there is an opportunity for New Castle County to earn revenue from these proposals to expand construction to other priority areas.
“If it ends up costing more than that, we’ll look at finding more funds either from federal dollars or other sources,” Meyer said. “I think it’s more realistic that there’s going to be revenue coming in attached to the tower that we can use to build more.”
A public comment period will open up after the Sep 6 deadline for cell tower proposals, but according to Hojnicki, this may not be for another estimated six months. The timeline for the permitting process and construction to begin is largely dependent on the details provided by cell service providers in their proposals.
Contact Molly McVety at mmcvety@delawareonline.com. Follow her on Twitter @mollymcvety.
